7+ years into her coaching journey, Becky Mollenkamp is honing in on the work she's most passionate about.
Discover how the mind coach and her time-tested founder Becky Mollenkamp is evolving her business to focus more on the things she is passionate about.
What happens when you let go"shoulds "shoulds' and began to believe in your intuition?
For the mindset trainer Becky Mollenkamp who decided to quit following a'shoulds'-based lifestyle" changed everything, including her career.
Becky helps people make the shift to go from "small proprietor" to CEO, and to build sustainable businesses that don't burn out. By leveraging the power of her Gutsy Boss brand, she has helped thousands of clients determine their personal "shoulds to do" and establish the success they can achieve based on their goals.
She has more than 20 years of expertise in the area of business entrepreneurship. Her experience includes, which includes owning an agency for content marketing that was six figures before starting her own company for coaching in the year of 2015.
Recently, we spoke to Becky to find out about the growth of her business in the past few years and look back on the journey she took to create. The company is in a transition period which is when she's focusing on specific work with midsize business owners and their consultants as well as employees.
Keep reading to find out how Becky has built her company by relying on her intuition and let go of the 'shoulds' -- and is helping fellow entrepreneurs make the same decision.
She has found her niche as a mindset coach
Even though Becky worked as an entrepreneur over twenty years, she wasn't have a part in her strategies.
"What drove me to the coaching path was my brother's passing in the year 2010 due to an overdose fatally caused by heroin. The loss really brought me out of my slumber," Becky explains.
"I had been living a life that was a series of "shoulds," going through the motions and doing everything you're supposed to be doing. It made me realize that life is shorter than it should be to have a lifestyle that isn't exactly what you want."
"I wasn't sure what I was looking for. But I knew I didn't want that," Becky remembers. The author ended his work and returned to the home of her mom. After that came the inner process of figuring out what she wanted to do with their lives.want the rest of her existence to be the same.
Becky was able to build her own writing company. "It was something that I knew and believed I was something I could succeed in. But I realized what I really wanted to accomplish was to help others break away from the "shoulds"."
Her next step was to coach.
"I realized I could help others who are going through the same things that I've experienced. And that's really the reason I realized it's my destiny to help others. This is my passion."
Her experience as an owner of an agency and her newfound drive to help people gave Becky's perspective an ideal match to coach on the attitude.
"I'm an expert in strategic planning and not an advisor, rather an instructor. So, I help individuals with their own conclusions and their own knowledge of what they want out of their lives or company, then assist people move forward with that," Becky explains.
As a way of helping clients live their lives a more full way by bringing her personal beliefs when she works. "I'm an empathic coach for women, which means that I value the lived experience of my clients, I'm trauma-informed and that coaching me is about compassion, no blaming and self-shaming."
Motivated by her experiences and expertise, Becky began building her online coaching company -- but it was accompanied by lots of "shoulds," too.
Distinguishing the noise of what an internet-based enterprise should appear to
In response to questions about the obstacles in establishing her coaching company, Becky laughs. "There weren't any challenges that I didn't have. I believe I faced all obstacles."
The battle of the "shoulds was played out at this point, as well. "I believe the most significant difficulty was the amount of noise in the web space about how the business should be in addition to the best way to manage it as well as the things you need to do to be successful," she says.
When looking back, Becky finds this common misconception that states business owners who don't start on a permanent basis aren't confident in their abilities, which is harmful and the privilege. "I did not realize that in the beginning, but I was filled with anxiety and felt like I was not performing my job well due to the fact that I needed to write [to earn a livingto survive."
She recalled the thought "Why didn't I succeed in making the coaching thing more successful more quickly? Is there something missing?"
A majority of people aren't able be able to afford launching the whole new thing full-time -- and that's perfect! This is a slow process. This isn't a reason to not be dedicated or an effective businessperson.
"I needed to complete myself my task of freeing myself from all of those feelings of shame and guilt, and acknowledge that the advice of being 100% committed" wasn't a good idea for the majority of individuals."
"The biggest challenge I encountered in the beginning was understanding that I was able to shift from a writing firm to a new endeavor." She aimed to shift her duties at a rate of 25% every year. In the beginning, it consisted of 75% writing and 25% coaching. "Honestly this is the first year in which there's been no writing at all," Becky tells us.
"That was a slow transition. The acceptance of it and finding the courage to release the shame and accept that it's fine, might be the smartest and most effective way to begin a new venture rather than feeling that they must go all into the business or not believe in themselves."
Becky was also reluctant to think of herself as the CEO , to appreciate the importance of her work and think big of the bigger.
"You are self-employed, be a solo entrepreneur or an owner of a modest-sized business with a couple of advisors . Yet, you're the chief executive officer, leader as well as the CEO, and the person with the vision." She explains.
"It's about being confident in getting present and saying "I'm certain in my skills. I'm capable of doing this.'"
Today, the CEO mindset is the main focus of her interactions with customers.
A specific client in mind (while providing her services to a wider public)
Becky's work is at a point of transition: She is focusing her efforts on the coaching of mid-sized entrepreneurs and team members .
There are several motives for this shift:
Her job is closer to her personal experiences and knowledge as a professional manager.
Possibility to give her time and talents to other people earns Becky the most significant quantity of cash.
The work she loves the most.
Based on personal experiences, Becky wants her clients to feel "the transformation that takes place in the internal world when you start treating your business like a company and treat yourself like the executive."
"I work on a personal basis and continue to do so, however I'm now working with females, typically those who run midsize companies," she describes. "It's concerned with ensuring the work-life balance is healthy for them, and also working with their employees or consultants to provide them with guidance for achieving a better life-style balance."
The change will change Becky's bottom line, too.
"You are charging more for coaching and coaching], which means you need to get an individual to earn about the same amount with those guides for $7 or even a course that costs $200 to $200. It is my responsibility to market many additional courses and guides which is why I have to include more people in my database since there is a small percentage that turn into merchandise." Coaches' clients are more likely to recommend to others, which may result in higher revenue for coaching down the line.
However, Becky plans to continue offering her services to a larger audience, even if they do not fit the criteria for the new coaching sessions one-on-one with her.
"I'm keeping my company in similar way to how I've operated it. This is Gutsy Boss. I'm also working to help both individuals and companies," Becky explains. "I am not going to abandon those people. I've worked with people over the years and many of them are on my podcast or are included on my mailing list."
To address the needs of people in, Becky has repurposed a substantial portion of her old materials into Gutsy Guides that help tackle certain issues, such as setting boundaries and demanding a lot, as well as getting over Imposter Syndrome.
"Generally the people who are classified as professionals are at mid-career. Instead of having a lot of time one-on-one together, I give them an abundance of information that they can utilize to self-coach on these issues," she says.
If someone does discover Becky's work they can be classified into two different groups:
Coaching clients who are interested in becoming potential coaches
Anyone interested in Becky's self-guided mini-course , self-study program and Gussy guides hosted by Becky via
What can she do to identify the market segment the potential client is part of?
Automatization, segmentation, and an extra dose of Inspiration to draw an inspiration from the Golden Girls.
Automating, segmenting, and a fun quiz to find potential customers the best services
Becky offers a test on her site: "Which business owner is you? " The question, which is six-question in nature (built by using Interact ) will let you know which Golden Girls-inspired business owners they include: Newbie (Rose), Flirt (Blanche), Pro (Dorothy) (or Sage (Sophia).
Every person represents a distinct part of the business process, beginning with the basics to a expert with years of experience.
"To be precise, this is a much more sophisticated email opt-insystem," Becky cautions fellow creators. "I would not recommend starting with something similar to this, particularly if you don't yet have an opt-in system... My experience was that I started with a simple download. This is probably the most straightforward alternative."
When you're ready to segment your target audience and you're ready to create a more sophisticated opt-in offer like Becky's could assist you in doing that. It can be utilized to make it easy for people to be targeted with offers which meet their specific preferences or expertise.
The email sequence is automated through ConvertKit this means she does not have to invest valuable time sending the appropriate products to the correct people.
"It occurs in the night," she describes. "They're receiving the email newsletters in the evening, and should they decide to buy the books, they're very inexpensive. It's a no-brainer, and it's a really easy system."
Becky knows that will grow with the expansion of her company.
The business of Becky has changed also, the way she approaches it in making use of .
Becky was able to add (and sometimes she removed) various products as her business grew which included the digital downloads, extra classes, and group coaching.
Today, Becky is working on launching the the 2023 Gutsy Accountability program which includes group coaching, downloadable tools, coaching one-on-one with Becky, and/or live sessions, depending on the type of program customers choose.
"I am overwhelmed by the possibility of doing group coaching because all of the assets I'd like to offer can be stored there. My clients are able to search their own resources. I am able to create the assets that I have already made that they can access. This is a lot easier. They can also make a payment for it . It's not my responsibility to think about any of it."
The buy buttons that can be embedded and the checkout function makes it easy customers to buy products like Gutsy Accountability without leaving the website.
As she has developed her development, she's allowed Becky the freedom to investigate the different kinds of products and discover what is most beneficial for her as well as her customers.
"Almost every single week I receive a call from someone who wants to reach me with a message saying that 'I'm certain the product you're using , tell me about it' which I'm always happy to help," she says.
"I believe it's beneficial to the general public to understand that it's feasible to build upon this foundation... You'll find everything you'll need for a cost you can manage."
Believe in your capabilities and build a company that is true to you.
Becky's final piece of advice for creatives is precisely the same as the advice she gives her clients: Take your time and follow your intuition.
"Listen to your body. A majority of those who visit me... They're plagued by these doubts, and don't have confidence. That makes them feel stuck, which makes people feel like they're not moving forward with their own company. It's disappointing. The feeling was one that I'll always remember," she says.
"In first place, believing in yourself is the most important factor for any successful experience."
Becky's coaching business has seen improvements from her first attempt to launch her course in the year of 2018. But the heart and soul of coaching -- helping others get rid of the'shoulds' -- remains steadfast. We're eager to see where the coming four year (and beyond!) are going to bring Becky and her venture.
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